how Phra Thong Island, and adjacent Ra and Ko Kao Islands have remained unknown and relatively undeveloped - with their combined area large as Goh Samui. The district of Kuraburi is itself fairly obscure, perhaps because it is confused with two other districts with similar names: Kraburi and Guiburi. Until about 15 years ago, those who had ever heard of Kuraburi knew of it as a den of ruffians. Then, the Government enlisted the help of local militia (to so bo cho) rather like the vigilantes of America's Wild West, to clean up the place. This they accomplished with dispatch rather than with due process, and the district has been safe and secure and increasingly prosperous ever since.

is among the best in Thailand, and the pier at Kuraburi is one of the busiest in the country. Large vessels, equipped with sophisticated sonar for finding the fish, ply the Andaman Sea and have permits to fish in Burmese waters. Smaller squid boats off the coast at night appear like a skyline, spreading their incandescent wings to attract the squid. On most days at about noon, the catch is hauled up onto the five piers at the Saphan Pla, (fish bridge) and sold by middleman for shipment to Phuket, Surat, and Bangkok. The only time that boats do not go out is when the moon is bright. Squid boats and small trawlers attract fish with arms of bright incandescent lights; if the whole scene is illuminated, the fish do not come to these lights.

off Phra Thong and Ra Islands, we can find delicious groupers (pla gao), snapper (pla krapong), and other fish in sizes rarely encountered in Bangkok markets. Emerging from the crevices in shallow rocks, we also see the whiskers of lobster (gung mangorn) which wholesale at the pier for over 400 baht (US$16) per kilogram. To catch these valuable crustaceans, one has to reach over their backs and pull them out very quickly; otherwise they wedge themselves in and cannot be budged.

Among the less friendly fish are moray eels and sting rays; fortunately the nasty jellyfish have not been encountered here. Stingrays attack only if stepped upon, so one can just shuffle along on the sandy bottom and if you encounter one with your toe, it will zoom away.

clamber up on the beach and lay their eggs, a delicacy to some and a smelly rubbery mess to others. The retired kamnan has a legal concession to collect the eggs, but he has to be quick to beat the locals to them. The kamnan will deliver half the eggs to the hatchery for further propagation, whereas the locals will take the lot. Often observed on the long beach at Phra Thong, the tracks are about a meter wide and look as much like tractor treads as animal feet.

Phra Thong Island and beach were discovered by Lost Horizons when a company employee was stationed at nearby Ranong Army camp. The camp commander said there was a beautiful beach out there somewhere, and farangs like to visit it. Surveying the site, the employee learned that all of three farang had visited the previous year, and this was a significant event for the locals. Today, the Lost Horizons nature resort is still the only development on the island, but Bak Joke villagers often play host to adventurous foreign tourists in their homes. The resort is a low-density community for nature lovers. There are presently 35 members, including Thais who own their plots and foreigners who have 30-year leases.

has a perfect harbor for small fishing boats. The village is known for its shrimp paste or gabi. At certain times of year the tiny shrimp (koei) appear along the beach, and the shrimp boats gather to scoop them up in their spoon-like nets. They are then fermented into paste, packed into double plastic bags of 15 kg each, and shipped out on the village's one daily passenger boat to market.

,
a few frontier merchants on the island became friends with the Sea Gypsies of the Surin Islands and became the conduit through which the Gypsies sold their products, including shells and other sea harvest items. Now the Sea Gypsies earn their money by selling to the mostly Thai tourists who go in droves to snorkel off the Surin Islands.


was until a few years ago an oasis of unspoiled forest and wildlife. Numerous water courses run off its mountainous spine, creating fresh water lagoons in several places on the west coast. Over the last few years, illegal loggers have removed many of the big trees but the island still has a fine cover of forest reaching in some places right down to the beach. Poachers have shot some but not all of the wild boar, monkeys, and deer. Officials say this is public land, but locals say they own it, and at least one title deed has been given on the southern end of the island.

Another reason why tourism was not developed here was because the area was controlled by wealthy tin miners who had concessions both on the islands and off-shore. Tin mining is no longer a threat to the environment here for two reasons: first, the deposits here are too expensive to mine; second, new environmental regulations which further increase the cost of mining are being strictly enforced

you can search the island for the mysterious Golden Buddha. Legend has it that long ago a marauding pirate buried his loot somewhere on Goh Phra Thong, and among the valuables is a priceless golden Buddha, from which the island takes its name.